Productive Afternoon Tips | 7 Ways to Beat The Afternoon Slump

I love to be productive and to cross things off my to-do list just like you, but I’ve got to be honest, I’ve fallen victim to the afternoon slump too many times than I’d like to admit. Not only am I managing Lucy’s wants and needs, but I’m also snacking, getting distracted, and sometimes, I’m simply avoiding work. #human

Have you ever experienced the afternoon slump? (Hint: there is only one right answer to that question.) It’s never going to be perfect, but we can do our best to keep our afternoons highly productive.

Here are 7 ways to beat the afternoon slump:

1. Set Email Off Hours

You don’t need to turn on an away message, but setting boundaries so that you are the one in control of your day is vital. You are running the show here, and that means you can’t let something like email distract you from being productive.

Their emergency isn’t your urgency…or however that phrase goes.

Set a few hours out of your day that you can be productive without checking in on someone else’s demands.

2. The 5-Minute Clean Desk Challenge

If your desk is a mess, you’re more likely to be less productive. Clutter is effecting you.

Challenge yourself to clean up after lunch. Take your morning coffee cup back to the kitchen; create a space for your notebook; put the pens back in the container; get some fresh water.

If you can’t do this in 5 minutes, you need to schedule time in your week to clean off your desk to make sure you’re setting yourself up for success.

3. Take A Walking Meeting

If you need to take a phone call or need some time to think, take a walking meeting. Exercise will help stimulate your brain. Listen to a podcast. Breathe in the fresh air and clear your brain.

When you come back to your desk, you’ll have a clear mind and will be ready to get to work.

4. Take A Power Nap

Research shows that just 10 minutes of rest will make you more productive in the afternoon. If you have a little caffeine before my nap + the energy you get from resting, you’ll get just the jolt you need to kill it in the afternoon.

5. Use The Pomodoro Method

I’ve talked about this before, and I can’t say enough about this strategy. You work really hard for 25 minutes and then you take a 5-minute break.

After 3 or 4 of these Pomodoros, you’ll have made a ton progress on your project or to-do list. That motivation will encourage you to do a little bit more. What’s 25 more minutes, right!?

6. Read A Chapter Of A Book

What should you do during your Pomodoro break? Read! I find that reading non-fiction (self-help or development of some kind) gets me highly motivated. If you allow yourself to learn something from someone else’s success, you get re-energized very quickly.

7. Focus on ONE Thing

It’s very likely that you put too many tasks on your daily to-do list. #Guilty

If you get to the end of the day and feel like you have done nothing, focus in on one thing and make it happen. It’s not going to carry over to tomorrow’s to-do list because you can finish it today and feel like you had a productive day.